Second Chance
by NiftyPaint24
Summary: ONESHOT Sesshomaru discovers that second chances show up when you least expect them to. SessKag


Title: Second Chance

Author: Niftypaint24

Prompt: Dokuga_contest's Wonderland Challenge

Genre: Romance

AU/CU: AU

Rating: MA

Word Count: 2,599

Warnings: Sexual situations, Innuendo, Fluff

Summary: Sesshomaru discovers that second chances show up when you least expect them to.

A/N: 20 prompts in 1 oneshot wasn't nearly as daunting as I thought it would be ^^

**SECOND CHANCE**

Snow was piled in high drifts on either side of the streets, but it hardly slowed down the activity in the city that never sleeps. Traffic was still a nightmare, and though you couldn't see them from the street half the time thanks to the snow, people bustled up and down the overcrowded sidewalks. Sesshomaru shifted on the leather seat of his comfortably warm limo before reaching up to tug at his bow tie. He hated tuxes. Unfortunately, they were a necessity for a black tie event, and that was exactly what he was headed to. Though he absolutely loathed such events, attending this one was a job requirement. Owning one of the largest, and most successful law firms in the country, he couldn't let the holidays pass without throwing a gala for both his employees and clients. He left all the details for someone else to decide, simply signed the checks and showed up at the designated location each year. Being the boss, he had to attend no matter how much he would have loved to do the opposite. His driver cautiously changed lanes and pulled into the circular drive of the hotel, easing to a stop when Sesshomaru's door pulled even with the red carpet. A hotel employee opened Sesshomaru's door with a flourish.

"Good evening mister Taisho," he greeted with a bright smile.

Sesshomaru nodded as he stepped from the limo and checked the straightness of his tie before smoothing out his jacket and heading down the carpet towards the main entrance. The lobby door was opened for him by another polished staff member and Sesshomaru thanked him with a tight smile. As he headed towards the grand ball room Sesshomaru knew this night would no doubt be just as boring as all the ones that had come before it. Perhaps he would be proved wrong and something worthwhile would happen. He sighed, unwilling to fault himself for dreaming. As soon as he set foot into the room people swarmed him, shaking his hand, thanking him, congratulating him on an amazing party and on yet another successful year. When there was finally a lull in the crowd, Sesshomaru took the time to take in the room. His company had outdone themselves this year. The theme, as he had been told it would be weeks before, was A Winter Wonderland, and it definitely lived up to it. The room glimmered in pale blues, silver, and white, glistening snowflakes hung from strategically placed bare aspen branches with their bases hidden in fake snow. The tables were captivating with their crisp white cloths, sparkling champagne glasses, and evergreen centerpieces with an unbelievably realistic bird, a cardinal if he wasn't mistaken, sitting in its center. The overall effect was amazing, and gave off the feeling that you were in the middle of a snowy meadow.

_Complete with a candle-lit bar. _Sesshomaru smirked with the thought.

Deciding a drink was in order to help make the evening a little more bearable, Sesshomaru started towards the bar, but was then stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of what was waiting for him there. Kagome Higurashi, his ex-girlfriend former employee, was standing there with two of his current employees. It didn't even cross his mind to wonder how or why she had ended up with an invitation, all that mattered was she was there, not twenty-five feet away. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, which forced him to remember how things had been before he'd broken her heart and she'd left the company to get away from him. His eyes instinctively fell down to her left hand, and he smiled to himself when there wasn't a glittering diamond ring to be found. His eyes traveled up, to her perfect face when she laughed at something one of her companions had said. His heart pounded in his chest at the sound. She was a vision in her black evening gown. It looked as if it had been custom made to hug her every wonderful curve, and drive him mad with lust. It did its job well. She turned to grab her drink from the bar and his heat-filled gaze fell to her delectable backside. Her gown was all but backless, with the fabric just barely covering the top of her butt. His groin tightened and he wished he had something to hold in front of his crotch until his hard-on went down, it wouldn't exactly be great for him if he got caught in his current condition. Better yet, he thought, he could peel that curve-hugging dress off Kagome's lithe body, lay her down on a bed, or ease her up against a wall, lick every inch of her tanned skin and put that hard-on where it belonged.

_Thoughts like that aren't helping the situation. _Sesshomaru thought with a frown as his groined throbbed almost painfully. It was as if Kagome and that dress were conspiring against him, knowing they could instantly turn him on.

Kagome happened to turn back then and notice him there, his gaze riveted on her. Their eyes locked for a split second before Kagome turned away, her face turning a delicate pink from the hungry look Sesshomaru gave her.

"You should go say hello," Sango, one of Kagome's friends suggested, much to Sesshomaru's delight. He would have normally felt a little guilty listening in on their conversation, but tonight, with Kagome involved, he didn't.

"No," Kagome answered. "I don't think that would be a very wise decision."

"Kagome, Sesshomaru's not going to eat you," Kikyo supplied and Kagome found Sesshomaru once more, her eyes raking over him appreciatively.

"That," Sango remarked before taking a sip of her cocktail. "might be the problem."

Kagome flushed a brighter pink and tore her eyes from Sesshomaru's figure, outstanding in his expertly tailored tux. "Sango," she hissed in embarrassment.

"Oh, come on Kagome," Sango continued to tease her long-time friend. "You two are going to end up sleeping together again sooner or later, and my money's on sooner. The air crackles whenever your eyes meet. You can't just write off the three years of mind-blowing passion between you two."

"It's been a year since we broke up, and we've barely spoken to one another," Kagome countered.

"And _obviously, _nothing's changed between you two," Kikyo commented.

"A lot has changed," Kagome sighed sadly. "He ripped apart my heart, remember?"

"Well, right now, he looks as if he wants to rip you out of that dress," Sango giggled.

Kagome groaned, but chanced another look in Sesshomaru's direction, her breath catching when their eyes met. Kikyo took Kagome's martini glass from her hand as Sango gently pushed on her back, forcing her towards him.

"Go have a good time or you'll regret it, trust me," Sango said, sounding knowledgeable on the subject.

Kagome hesitated for a fraction of a second, then gave in to the inevitable. There wasn't anyway she was going to get out of talking with Sesshomaru at his own party, and frankly, she wasn't sure she was strong enough to stay away from him. She straightened her spine and did her best to not look too flustered as she approached the man who had once been the center of her world.

"Hello," she said looking up at him with a radiant smile, hoping she looked more confident the she felt.

"Kagome," Sesshomaru breathed. "You look breathtaking."

Kagome smiled with satisfaction at his comment. She had bought the dress with the particular task of making him regret they were no longer together. "Thank you," she answered honestly. "You look quite handsome yourself."

Sesshomaru shrugged one shoulder minutely and was pleasantly surprised when Kagome moved to hug him. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and put her arms around him, pulling him closer. Her eyes widened in surprise when she felt his erection, and pink bloomed in her cheeks. Sesshomaru smirked and slipped his hand lower on her back, pressing her closer.

"You have the same effect on me that you always did," he breathed in her ear seductively and Kagome's face flushed a darker shade, her cheeks absolutely on fire after his comment.

"Sesshomaru," she pleaded and he relaxed his hold, allowing her to move away slightly, but not out of his grasp completely. Their new position offered him a practically unobstructed view of her ample breasts trapped within the confines of her evening gown.

"Did you wear that dress with the sole purpose of torturing me?" he asked, half sighing the words, and half grinding them out.

"Yes, actually," Kagome answered with a proud little grin.

"Well it's working," Sesshomaru whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Will you share a dance with me?" he asked, and when Kagome hesitated, he added, "For old time's sake?"

"If you think I owe you something-" Kagome began, her temper beginning to rise to the surface.

"No, I don't. I didn't mean it that way," Sesshomaru interjected. "I simply wish to be selfish and hold you in my arms for a while."

Kagome was torn, she wanted to remain strong and say no, but the feeling of his hands on her bare skin was proving to be too powerful to break away from. Still apprehensive, she nodded slightly and allowed Sesshomaru to lead her towards the dance floor with a triumphant grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. She needed some sense knocked into her, she thought, slightly regretting her decision. Sesshomaru's arms would soon be around her as they swayed slowly to some classic love song the string quartet played seemingly just for them, and Kagome knew that would likely lead her down a road she wasn't emotionally ready for; a road that ended with her and Sesshomaru naked and tangled in the high thread-count sheets of a suite. Sesshomaru stopped and pulled Kagome into his arms in one fluid movement, his hands carefully sliding around her sides to rest on her lower back. Slipping her arms around his neck, Kagome gave a little sigh as she allowed herself to lean against him.

"I've missed you, a lot" Sesshomaru blurted, then mentally kicked himself for saying so.

Kagome did her best not to look up at him, she didn't want him to see the effect his words had on her.

"If you recall, it's your fault I left," was her reply.

"I remember it well," Sesshomaru answered, not skating around the truth. "I also remember lots of other things, the way you felt around me as you climaxed for one."

Kagome's breath hitched and her heart skipped a beat with Sesshomaru's brazen comment. How did he always manage to say things like that when she was most susceptible to them? She was feeling almost dizzy he felt so good, the warmth of his body against hers, his strong hands splayed across her back, and Kagome knew she couldn't hold out against him for long, he was just too good at this.

"I also remember how you used to beg me for more," he breathed against her neck, his breath washing over her skin, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake.

Something old and familiar began to build within her. Kagome felt weak in the knees as Sesshomaru put his hands to her cheeks, easing her head back for the kiss he planned on giving her. "Do you remember," he murmured as their breaths mingled, "Kagome?"

"Sesshomaru." The way she said his name; it pulled at his heart, and a few other vital organs too. He knew that tone well, and in the past it had meant only one thing: she wanted him.

Blood thundered in Sesshomaru's ears like he'd spent too long under water. He pulled her against him, so that their torsos collided, and he kissed her. Gently at first, then slowly, carefully, he turned up the heat. Kagome gently rocked her hips forward once and Sesshomaru moaned, tearing his mouth from hers, breathless.

"Come," he rasped, gripping her hand and dragging her from the dance floor.

He didn't lead her far, just off the main room there was a smaller one completely closed off to the main festivities where they could be alone. Once inside, Sesshomaru recaptured Kagome's mouth, intent on claiming it as his own once more. Kagome trembled, and he knew she was torn between pulling away and giving herself to him then and there. He kissed her harder, cupped her perfect little butt in his hands and hoisted her up a little, her cue to wrap her legs around him. She did.

"Kagome," He moaned, leaving her luscious lips in favor of kissing his way down her neck.

"Sesshomaru," Kagome gasped, overwhelmed.

The haze of lust lifted slightly when Kagome opened her eyes and realized where this was heading. She may have wanted him badly, but she wasn't planning on partaking in a rushed frolic in some darkened corner of a hotel ballroom. She pulled away sharply and unhooked her legs from around Sesshomaru's waist. Regretfully, he let her slide down until her feet were once again on the carpeted floor.

"I can't," she panted, silently cursing her body for betraying her so severely.

"I disagree," Sesshomaru countered, with a ghost of a smile, before attempting to kiss her.

"Sesshomaru, we can't do this. _I _can't do this," she corrected. "Not now."

Sesshomaru wanted to argue with every fiber of his being, but he wasn't about to force Kagome into doing something she didn't want to. And he honestly couldn't blame her, he had wounded her deeply.

"Alright," he relented, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "Not now," he agreed. "But at some point?" he asked hopefully, his breath still fast and shallow.

Kagome couldn't help but smile slightly at the look on his face. "I don't know."

Sesshomaru wanted to press the issue, but if he really wanted a second chance with her, he knew he couldn't.

"Alright," he sighed, letting his hands slip down her arms until he was no longer touching her.

"I'm sorry," Kagome apologized, regretting the look of disappointment she was responsible for on Sesshomaru's face. He may have broken her heart, but she _had _loved him, and it hurt a little to see him this way.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Sesshomaru brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "I'm the one who should apologize."

Kagome's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"I know I hurt you, and I've regretted it every day since you left," he confessed. "I know there's nothing I can do to make up for that, and God knows I don't deserve another chance, but-"

"Shh." Kagome placed her hand over Sesshomaru's mouth, having heard enough. Though she was thrilled to the very core with Sesshomaru's long overdue confession, groveling didn't suit him. "Let's just start over," she suggested, dropping her hand from his mouth. "I'm not saying that I can completely forget what you did, and pretend it never happened, but..." she trailed off, unsure of what she was saying, not knowing what she really wanted. Did she want to be with him again? For some unfathomable reason, the answer was _yes_.

Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. "I love you," he murmured against her lips, truly unafraid to speak those words for the first time in his life.

Kagome's eyes glistened with tears, the emotional rollercoaster she was on was finally taking its toll on her. "Sesshomaru," she began, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Let's start over," Sesshomaru agreed kissing her tenderly.


End file.
